← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 800 g beef chuck or stewing beef, cut into 4 cm cubes
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 400 ml full-fat coconut milk, unshaken
• 4 tbsp Massaman curry paste
• 400 ml beef stock or water
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 Star anise
• 2 bay leaves or makrut lime leaves
• 450 g waxy potatoes, cut into 3 cm chunks
• 1 Onion, cut into wedges (or 4 shallots, halved)
• 60 g roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 tbsp Tamarind paste
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1½ tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 Red chilli, sliced, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Pat the beef dry. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over high heat and brown the beef in batches for 5–6 min per batch, until well coloured. Set aside.
2. Lower the heat to medium, add the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk and simmer for 2 min, then stir in the curry paste and fry for 2–3 minutes until fragrant and the oil turns red.
3. Return the beef with any juices, then add the rest of the coconut milk, the stock, cinnamon, star anise and bay leaves. Bring to a bare simmer, cover and cook on low for 1½ hours, stirring now and then.
4. Add the potatoes, onion and peanuts. Simmer uncovered for 30–40 min, until the beef is fall-apart tender, the potatoes are cooked and the sauce has thickened.
5. Season with the tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce, tasting as you go: massaman should be gently sweet, a little sour and savoury. Serve with jasmine rice and sliced chilli.

Tips

• Contains peanuts. Check the curry paste and stock labels if you need it strictly gluten-free.
• Like most braises it tastes even better the next day; cool it quickly and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

RecipeTin Eats BBC Good Food Marion's Kitchen